Retainer post assembly for paper grain door for boxcars



J; S. SNYDER May 21,1957

RETAINER POST ASSEMBLY FOR PAPER GRAIN DOOR FOR BOXCARS Filed May 13, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig.1

m k a M 0.0 wwwzzwmaa m m p g w 1/ M ww w MMm 21, 71957 J. 5. SINYDER RETAINER POST ASSEMBLY FOR PAPER GRAIN DOOR FOR BOXCARS Filed May 15,. 1955 2 Shee'ts-Shegt 2 United States Patent O RETAINER POST ASSEMBLY FOR PAPER GRAIN DOOR FOR BOXCARS James S. Snyder, Indianapolis, Ind.

Application May 13, 1955, Serial No. 508,241

1 Claim. (Cl. 160-368) y it was formerly the practice to incorporate a wooden grain door bulkhead in the ordinary door of the box car, and after the implacement of the same grain would be blown into the box car. In order to reduce the cost required for the material and installation of wooden grain doors, there has been used corrugated paper grain doors reinforced by steel banding straps disposed approximately six inches apart. These straps were generally secured on opposite sides of the box car doorway at six inch vertical intervals by means of nails which were driven into vertically extending post members, it being necessary to drive these nails at a particular angle in order to tension the same, the implacement of said steel straps ordinarily requiring a special skill. After the box car had been utilized three or four times incorporating the steel reinforcing straps, it was found that the vertical post became mutilated and would not have the ability to retain nails therein, thus resulting in failureof the paper grain door, and accordingly the loss of grain in transit.

A principal object of invention, in view of that set forth above, is to provide a paper grain door assembly utilizing steel reinforcing bands, which may be placed in relatively permanent vertical reinforcing members adjacent opposite sides of a box car doorway, and wherein said straps may be retained in position on said vertical members in a simple and expedient manner requiring relatively little skill and effort.

A further object of invention in conformance with that set forth above is to provide a paper grain door assembly wherein a great saving in labor is realized during implacement, relatively little mutilation occurs during removing of the reinforcing bands, the steel reinforcing bands may be applied by unskilled labor, wherein the paper grain door assembly may be more expeditiously implaced, is efiicient for the purpose designed, and the useage thereof results in a savings in cost, labor and material.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a paper grain door assembly in position in a box car doorway as seen from the interior of a box car;

Figures 2 and 3 are enlarged sectional views taken substantially on lines 22 and 3-3, respectively, of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is an enlarged partial front elevational view 2,792,882 Patented May 21, 1957 of the grain door assembly with parts broken away for clarity;

Figures 5 and 6 are enlarged sectional views taken substantially on lines 55 and 6-6, respectively, of Figure 4; and

Figure 7 is a fragmentary elevational view of a portion of an alternate form of vertical fastening and tensioning means.

Indicated generally at 10 is the usual side wall of a box car into which grain will be transported, said wall including the usual doorway 12, the wall including the spaced wall portions 14 and 16, cooperating with the usual box car floor 18. The wall portions 14 and 116 include therebetween a door frame and vertical stud element 20 which are secured therein in any suitable manner. The heretofore described structure is that of a conventional nature usually found in box cars utilized for the transportation of grain.

Secured adjacent the side edges of the doorway 12 are vertically extending flat fastening posts 22 and 24 which are secured to the wall by means of suitable fastening bolts 26 which extend entirely through the wall 10 to provide maximum rigidity. The vertical fastening elements are made of a suitable metal through which a plurality of diagonal passages extend horizontally, the passages, as seen in Figures 5 and 6 forming an acute angle relative to the edge 28 of the wall portion 16 for slidably receiving nails at the same angle.

Member 22 will generally include a pair of rows of vertically extending apertures 30, the size of the holes being generally that to accommodate the ready passage therein of a conventional ten-gauge nail 32. This nail will generally be of the double-headed type to permit the ready removal thereof when the paper grain door is to be removed from the doorway 12. The vertical fastening element 24 includes the nail passages 34, which may be staggered at regular intervals, for example, every other row at three-fourths inch, with the holes being drilled one and one-half inches apart the full vertical length of the post as best shown in Figures 4 and 5. The holes 34 might also be placed in groups of four in a horizontal row of three inch spacing both horizontally and vertically with adjacent rows being staggered approximately one-eighth of an inch from the horizontal as shown in Figure 7. The reason for the aforementioned staggering is to provide a desirable adjusting means for applying the tension to a plurality of steel tension bands 36 which are generally placed at six inch intervals spaced horizontally, said tensioning straps being secured to the vertical fastening elements 22 and 24 by means of the nails 32. It is believed readily apparent that the nails 32 may be slidably extended into the apertures 38 of the straps 36 with relatively little effect on the vertical element 22, and thereafter the steel fastening element 36 extended over to the vertical fastening element 24 wherein the best possible aperture 34 is chosen to apply tension on the strap 36. It is thus believed readily apparent that this expedient of securing the fastening straps 36 may be used over and over again with relatively little damage to the members 22 and 24, and the tensioning straps 36 may also be used over again.

After the tension straps 36 have been implaced, the usual corrugated grain door cover 38 is secured by means of a top board 40 secured to the vertical fastening elements 22 and 24 by means of the nails 42, and after the top board 40 has been thus secured, the corrugated paper grain door 38 is secured by means of the fasteners 44 in the usual manner, and then nailed to the floor 18 by means of the fasteners 46, as seen in Figure 1.

Thus, it is readily apparent that there has been dis closed a novel retainer post assembly for grain doors for 3 box. car doors conforming with the objects of invention heretofore set forth.

Various positional directional terms such as, side, bottom, etc. are utilized herein to have a relative connotation to aid in describing the device and are not intended to be interpreted as requiring any particular orientation with respect to any external elements.

The foregoinglis considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes Will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

A paper door assembly comprising a pair of vertical fiat metal posts attachable to a boxcar at opposite sides of a doorway, vertically spaced resilient bands extending horizontally across said posts and having longitudinally spaced apertures therein, vertically spaced rows of elongated horizontal passages extending transversely through said posts, and headed elongated fastener members slidably extended through selected apertures in said bands and into selected passages in said rows to secure said bands to said posts under tension, the passages in each post and the fastener members therein converging from said bands toward the passages and fastener members in the other post to prevent said fastener members from pulling out of said passages under tension exerted by said bands, and a paper door secured to said posts over said bands by elongated fastener members slidably extended through other of the passages in said posts.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

